love is like a polaroid
by elilover2
Summary: Luke is a Senior in college, Percy is a Freshmen. Luke is studying History, Percy is studying art (painting.) Luke is hearing, Percy is deaf.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:**

**1.) This is my first Luke/Percy (or Percy Jackson in general) story in a while. However, I do love the pairing. And I have a lot of time on my hands at the moment, so what better way to spend it? **

**2.) This is an AU story, obviously. **

**3.) All sign language will be in italics. **

**I am not actually deaf or hard of hearing. But I am interested in deaf/HoH culture and the language. If I describe a sign and it doesn't seem right to you, you can tell me. Sign language does change regionally and nationally, though. So it could just be that.**

* * *

Luke is in desperate need of some coffee.

He hasn't slept in almost 48 hours and, surprisingly, it's not making him feel very good. In fact, he feels like utter shit. And when he looks in the closest mirror, he realizes that he looks even worse. There are bags under his eyes and he's paler than usual. His hair is a mess because he's been running his hands through it. To be frank, he looks like utter shit times a thousand. And he has a date tonight.

The couch protests when he lifts himself off of it. Or maybe it's his joints doing all the protesting. They crack and creak like he's an old man.

Papers scatter and he jerks the laptop cord out of his laptop with his shin. In his hazy, coffee deprived state, he doesn't really notice. He's pretty sure if a tornado came through he wouldn't be able to gather the wits or the energy to do anything about it. He would just lay down on his kitchen floor and let the damn thing have him. It couldn't be half as bad as writing a thirty page paper on the finer points of the Seven Years War.

That's what you get, he thinks wryly, for wanting a degree in history.

"Yeah, yeah." He mutters to himself and jabs the elevator button. After a few minutes of humming and buzzing, the doors open and Luke steps inside. There's only one other person in the elevator with him and they remain on opposite sides of the car. When the doors open on the lobby level, he lets the girl off first. She smiles at him vaguely and pushes a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. There's a pencil stuck in her ponytail holder.

The closest coffee shop of a place called Chiron's Coffee. There's a decently sized line zigzagging through the small shop and by the time Luke makes it to the counter he's stumbling over his own feet.

"What would you like?" The girl at the counter asks.

"Coffee." Luke says dumbly, "Black. Large. As big as possible. I don't care if you put it in a bucket."

She doesn't even crack a smile, just calls his order to the guy working the machines and turns back to him.

"That will be $2.75."

He digs around in his pockets and comes up with the appropriate amount.

"Coming right up." She doesn't even look up as she gestures to the side, "You can wait over there."

Luke moves away from the counter and watches as the next few people place their orders. He begins tapping his foot. How long does it take to make a coffee? Is there machine broken? What if they ran out of coffee?

"Large, black coffee."

Luke all but lunges at the proffered cup.

"Enjoy."

Luke is already heading out the door. He takes a sip of the coffee and almost spits it out when it touches his tongue. It's fucking boiling!

He can feel the heat through the cup and the sleeve they put around it. The realization that he will have to wait a good ten minutes to drink his coffee almost makes him cry. He was so damn close!

The coffee shop is only a block away from his apartment building, so it takes him little to no time to arrive back at his apartment. The lobby is blissfully warm after the late October chill outside and he eyes his coffee miserably. Maybe it isn't as hot…

He takes another sip of his coffee and feels his eyes water. Yeah, it's still pretty damn hot. No, it would not be a good idea to take another sip.

He does anyway.

At this point, his vision is so clouded with tears he can hardly see where he's going. So the fact that he manages to run into someone isn't all that surprising. The fact that he manages to keep his coffee upright and completely within its container, well, that is very surprising. But he definitely isn't complaining.

It's only as his vision clears that he remembers the person he ran into, who is currently sprawled on the floor.

"Shit, sorry." He says and reaches out a hand, hauling the guy up and checking for any visible injuries.

"Are you all right?"

The guy is watching him intently, his eyes on Luke's mouth. He nods and grins at Luke, holding out a hand which Luke shakes.

"I'm Luke." Because even in his sleep deprived state, he knows what a handshake means. The guy smiles and holds up a finger. As Luke waits, he pulls out a cell phone and begins typing. After a moment, he holds the screen out towards Luke.

_Percy_.

"Nice to meet you, Percy. Or, nice to dump you on the floor, I guess." He trails off at Percy's insistent tapping on the key pad of his phone.

_No problem. At least you didn't spill your coffee. You look like you need it._

Luke laughs, "You wouldn't believe how much I need it. Two days straight of non-stop revision. I feel like dropping out."

Percy laughs and it's infectious. Luke is laughing with him before he can stop himself. When he does stop laughing, he quirks a brow, "So, is texting always your preferred method of communication?"

Percy grins and begins typing furiously.

_I usually sign. _

"So you're deaf?" Luke thinks back to when he learned the alphabet in elementary school. He can barely remember how to spell his name.

_No. I'm blind._

Luke rolls his eyes, "Funny guy, I see. What's your major?"

_Art. Painting. _

"God, not another one." Luke feigns disgust, "You people are everywhere."

Percy shrugs.

_We're planning on taking over the world._

"Yes, because a world full of artists would function perfectly."

_Better than it is now. _

"Until someone clogs the toilet." Luke says drily and Percy laughs again. And again, Luke can't help but join him. There's something about Percy that he just _likes_. He wonders if he's new to the apartment or just visiting someone. Will he be able to see him again?

_Now who's the funny guy?_

"Still you." Luke deadpans, "I have to get going though. There's a paper calling my name. Maybe I'll see you around though?"

Percy grins at him.

_Hopefully without running into me._

"Right."

There's an awkward pause where neither of them is sure what to do, then Percy waves goodbye and heads into the lobby. Luke watches him disappear in a crowd of people passing by the building on the sidewalk outside. He realizes he could have asked Percy for his number, it's not like the kid was particularly shy. But maybe he'll get another chance.

The elevator is inhabited by the same blonde girl as before. She nods to Luke and he smiles at her vaguely, drinking some of his coffee and sighing in relief when it turns out to be the perfect temperature.

Back in his apartment he downs the rest of the coffee in less than three minutes and tosses the cup on the floor. It's time to get some serious work done. All the time before now, he thinks, has been child's play. But now he's going to really, _really _work. He might even finish the whole damn paper tonight. He's had coffee. He's practically invincible. He can do anything.

Anything…

He pauses in his inner, paper oriented monologue.

If his possibilities are endless, why doesn't he do something practical? The paper can wait. Why not do something useful?

"Like learn the sign language alphabet." He supplies and his inner voice agrees. The sign language alphabet could be very useful. And not just because of Percy.

Right?


	2. Chapter 2

The History department is holding some sort of "Travel to the Past" fundraiser for a trip to Europe. The tickets are five dollars and Percy is desperate to go. When do you ever get the chance to travel to the past for five dollars? Practically never! Unfortunately, Grover refuses to even consider going. Not even when Percy tells him that they don't have to dress up or anything.

_History isn't my thing. _

Percy frowns at him.

_It could be!_

Grover shrugs but doesn't change his mind. And Annabeth claims to be too busy with schoolwork. Percy tries to convince her that taking a break is the best thing for her, that even geniuses need to rest their minds, but she merely gives him a look and continues figuring equations in her head. Percy slams the door on his way out and sulks for an entire day.

How is he supposed to go to this thing alone?

Sure, he's pretty self-sufficient. His mom and living in New York made sure of that. But it would be more fun with friends and a lot easier on him. Reading lips is exhausting.

No one will go with him though, no matter how often he begs them. On the day of the event, he takes his five dollars and heads to the History department alone. It's a decent walk from his dorm room and he spends the entirety of it texting Grover sad face emojiis. Eventually, Grover stops responding. He moves on to Annabeth and she sends him a strongly worded text about how he's "not a four year old" and can "handle himself perfectly well" which doesn't make him feel any better. What's the fun in handling himself well?

He pockets his phone and sighs.

However, he feels much better when he reaches the History building. More specifically, the inside of the History building. Because standing inside the door with a stack of paper programs and a powdered wig is Luke. Luke who smiles when he sees Percy and bows. The gesture has Percy laughing and pulling his phone out, typing quickly.

_They say girls love a well dressed man. _

Luke grimaces down at his outfit. It's very ruffled and a powder blue that looks good on Luke, but is a generally awful color.

"It's better than being inside." He gestures to the door, "They have to dress up and stay in character."

_Is it worth five dollars? _

Luke reads the message and shrugs, "Depends on how much you like being told things you already know. And no, I don't know it all just because I'm a History major. They have a Benjamin Franklin in there who tells you he invented electricity."

_I learned that in the third grade. _

"I know." Luke grins at him and Percy feels his heart stop. Damn, does Luke have to be so attractive? It would be so much easier if he was just average. Maybe Percy could seem a little bit cooler.

"I learned something for you." Luke looks around for a place to put the programs, then shrugs and hands them to Percy. Slowly and clumsily, he signs the alphabet. Percy doesn't think he'll ever breathe again. Luke learned that for him? Luke was thinking about him? He wants to tell Luke that he was thinking about him too, but that would be weird.

Instead, he smiles widely and types on his phone.

_That was good! You learned it for me? _

Luke looks embarrassed, "Well, yeah. I mean, I figured it was useful anyway."

_You shouldn't have. _

Luke takes his programs back while Percy sticks his tongue out. Luke rolls his eyes and says something about pulling it out. The threat has Percy laughing again and Luke soon follows. Percy likes laughing with Luke. He likes being around Luke. He likes Luke.

Damn, he likes Luke.

"You going in?" Luke indicates the building and Percy shrugs.

_Not if it sucks. _

"It doesn't suck." Luke says quickly, "It just isn't very good."

Percy stays still for a moment, thinking about what to do next. There are a lot of options, but he knows what he wants to do the most. He wants to stay out here with Luke and keep talking. He wants to talk to Luke for forever.

_Maybe I'll just sit out here with you. _

He turns to screen towards Luke nervously and bites his lip while the other male reads it. He doesn't have to worry though, because Luke's face lights up as soon as he's done and he nods vigorously.

"That would be great! This place is completely dead. No one really gives a damn about the History department."

_This was a fund raiser? _

"Yeah, for a Europe trip. Looks like it won't be much help though."

_Are you going? Or do you dress like this for fun? _

"Very funny, Perce."

Percy sucks in a breath at the nickname and hopes Luke didn't notice. If he did, he's nice enough not to mention it. But fuck, how can he blame Percy when he's the one that goes around giving people nicknames? Attractive people shouldn't be allowed to do that.

"I've been to Europe a few times before. I don't really feel like going again."

Percy blinks at him.

_A few times? _

"Yeah, like four." Luke shrugs and leans against the side of the building, "You ever been?"

Percy is momentarily ashamed of himself and his background. His mom had to save every penny she could just to get him into college. No way they could afford to go to Europe.

_No. I've never been out of the country. _

"It's not for everyone." Luke says easily and Percy lets out a breath, "I know some people who are terrified to leave America. They think every country is full of terrorists."

_You mean that isn't true? _

"Ha ha." Luke deadpans, "Seriously, though. Some of the people my family knows. They're so narrow minded. They believe everything they hear." He frowns and Percy wonders if he should feel special for getting to know this. Or does Luke tell this to everyone?

Luke appears to be contemplating his last statement. They sit in silence (or...non-motion) for a long time. Percy begins to fidget and his mind wanders to Grover and how Luke knows so many narrow minded people. The natural conclusion would be that Luke's family has a lot of money. As far as Percy knows, people with a lot of money are pretty close minded. Except for Luke.

"How's your family?" Luke changes the subject abruptly and Percy is left scrambling to gather his wits.

_I live with my mom. My dad left when I was little. My mom is amazing and beautiful and does everything for me. She's the strongest person I know. I don't really know my dad's family. My mom's family is okay. They all live pretty far away tho. _

Luke reads for a while. When he's finished, he simply nods and goes back to contemplating.

They're still standing quietly when the doors open and people begin heading down the steps and out onto the sidewalk. The majority of them are dressed normally, but some are in costume. Luke swears and glances at his watch.

"I have to talk to Rogers." He says and begins to turn away, only to pause and turn back. Hurriedly, he pulls out a pen and scribbles something on one of the programs. When he hands it to Percy, he winks.

And then he's gone. But this time, Percy has his phone number.


	3. Chapter 3

Apparently, Percy is an avid texter. He texts Luke a good thirty times in less than five minutes and that's mere seconds after he leaves Luke at the History building. For the rest of the week, Luke loses count after what has to have been the millionth text.

_i bought coffee_

_this coffee sux_

_no wait_

_i just had to get used to it _

All of these are separate messages, although they come within five seconds of each other. Luke reads them with a grin and pockets his phone, except it vibrates again and he has to switch his coffee cup to his other hand to retrieve it.

_i c u_

He stops and looks around. He doesn't see Percy anywhere. The sidewalk is practically empty and the only shop is seemingly closed. Maybe he passed Percy a few seconds ago.

_look up _

_up_

_look up luke_

Luke obeys and glances up towards the top of the buildings. Luke spies Percy waving madly from a small balcony jutting from the second story of the closed shop. For a moment, he considers calling up to him. But that wouldn't work and Percy would laugh at him for weeks probably months afterwards. Instead, he turns back to his phone and types out a quick message.

_Try not to fall off. _

When he looks back up, Percy is reading the message.

_don't worry i won't i spend a lot of time up here_

Of course Percy would spend a lot of time on a small, dirty balcony above a shop with boards across the windows. How does he even get up there? Luke wonders. More importantly, isn't that illegal?

_I'm going to be late. _

He looks up and Percy is pouting.

_come on_

_See you later, Percy_

_don't be like that_

_Like what? Responsible? _

_skip class_

_No. _

_u can sit up here w/ me_

_No. Thank you, though, for the offer._

_its not an offer its a command_

Luke quirks a brow at his phone.

_Are you seriously going there?_

_yes_

_No. _

_y not_

_I have a class. In 5 minutes. _

There's a long pause. Luke begins walking again knowing that, at this point, he's going to be late for class. It'll be the first time since Sophomore year that he's been late and he's almost disappointed. There's a very limited amount of people that can claim to have been punctual and present to every class two years in a row. Especially in college.

He's busy mourning this loss of unique accomplishment when he recognizes the sound of running footsteps behind him. It doesn't even register that he could possibly be getting mugged. He turns around to face Percy with a smirk on his face.

It is Percy (thank God).

Percy who is heaving and putting his hands on his knees. Clearly, he's not a runner.

"Are you all right?"

Percy gives him a look.

"Okay."

Finally, Percy straightens and, still breathing a little heavier than normal, holds out his phone.

Luke rolls his eyes.

"You couldn't have texted this to me?"

Percy shakes his head and makes a "go on" gesture.

Sighing, Luke looks down at what he assumes is a highly important message.

_please please please please please please please please please please_

And on and on and on.

Luke looks back up about halfway through the pleases. Percy is wearing a self-satisfied smirk and raises his eyebrows when he catches Luke's eye. Luke sighs and hands the phone back.

"I have an impeccable attendance record, Percy." He says, "This will completely destroy me."

Percy doesn't even the have the decency to pretend to be sorry. He merely grins and begins jogging back the way he came. Luke jogs after and easily overtakes him. Unlike Percy, Luke is a runner. He likes to run whenever he can. In high school, he was even on the track team. He wonders what Percy did in high school. He knows from their earlier conversations that Percy is a Freshman, so high school wasn't long ago. However, Percy hasn't mentioned any particular interests or hobbies. He mostly talks about his mom and a friend named Grover.

They don't talk while they jog down the sidewalk and around the side of the boarded up building. Luke makes a face when Percy slides one of the windows open and slips through.

He sticks his head in to find Percy looking at him expectantly.

"This is illegal."

Percy shrugs.

Luke shrugs.

There are old, decrepit stairs in the back of the shop. Percy climbs them easily but Luke is a little more cautious. They look like the slightest breath of air could knock them over. Maybe Percy is freakishly light? Maybe he has hollow bones like a bird. If his back weren't turned and quickly disappearing, Luke would ask him. As it is, he can only follow to the best of his ability and pray that the stairs don't collapse. At least, not at the very top.

After the stairs comes a short hallway with a door at the very end. The door, obviously, leads to the balcony. There are doors lining the walls on either side, so Luke assumes the building was built as an apartment.

Percy holds the door open for him.

"Impressive." Luke deadpans, "A balcony almost as horrendously decrepit as the stairs. Is this really worth potential jail time?"

Percy frowns.

_not that bad_

"No." Luke agrees. What he means is "not as bad as it could be," but something tells him he should keep that thought to himself. Instead, he takes a seat in one of the lawn chairs someone dragged up. He has a feeling it was Percy.

_better than class huh_

"Better than class, yeah."

_u need to know asl_

"Age, sex, location?" Luke feigns ignorance and Percy blows out a sigh.

_what do u want to learn_

"Whatever you want to teach me." Luke says honestly, "I'm all...hands?"

_good 1_

Luke smirks and Percy sticks his tongue out.

"How about...yes?"

Percy brightens and holds up a fist. He makes it nod, like someone's head. It's like he's controlling an invisible sock puppet. Luke mimics the movement and Percy gives him a thumbs up. This makes Luke very, very happy.

"Okay, what about no?"

Percy holds up his thumb, middle, and forefinger. He brings the middle and forefinger down to meet his thumb. Luke copies the movement.

"Oh, come on. Give me some hard ones." Luke jokes.

Percy signs a firm "no."

Luke signs a less firm "yes."

They continue like this for a few minutes.

"Okay, teach me...good."

Percy touches the tips of the fingers of his right hand, palm facing away from Luke, to his chin. He brings his right hand down to meet the open palm of his left hand. It makes a small smack.

"What about bad?"

The tips of his fingers touch his chin again, like in good, but this time he flings them out and down. The palm ends up facing the ground.

"Not so hard."

_ur a natural _

"Maybe I was meant to be with you." Luke says casually and then immediately realizes how it must sound. He tries to think of something to make it less awkward but Percy is faster.

_u think_

Luke nods his head. Well, hand.


	4. Chapter 4

It takes a month for Percy to gather up the courage to kiss Luke.

They're walking to class (because that's something they do now) and Percy stops in the middle of the sidewalk and just _does it_. Luke doesn't react, not even when Percy is pulling away and then _running _away because he figures bad things can't happen if they can't catch you, right? And he's already late to class as it is. A part of him hopes that Luke will chase after him and they can skip class and sit up on the balcony and kiss some more, but he makes it all the way to class without stopping. He's pretty sure his heart's stopped (only it hasn't because he's really out of shape and it feels like it's going to fall out of his chest.)

He sits in the back of the class and checks his phone for texts from Luke. In a fit of desperation, he texts Luke first. Of course Luke doesn't have his read receipts on so there's no way for Percy to know if he's even seen the message. But he assumes that Luke has and is just ignoring him, filthy friend kisser that his. He would probably ignore Annabeth if she kissed him.

No, he wouldn't. Maybe Luke just hasn't seen the message?

There's no message from Luke for the rest of that class or the next one. Percy texts him several more times in case the first message didn't go through and then texts him a few more times after that apologizing for texting him so much.

_sry 2 bother u_

_ill stop txtng u now_

_just say smethng_

_plz_

_luuuuuuuuuuke_

_luke castellan_

_lucas castellan_

_fine_

_c u_

The last message is sent in a fit of rage in Annabeth's dorm room. He's been there for an hour, raging about how stupid he is and how stupid Luke is in equal measures. Annabeth has long since begun ignoring him. He can see her doing homework out of the corner of his eye.

He throws his phone at her bed where it lands squarely on her pillow.

_What am I going to do? _

She rolls her eyes.

_Go talk to him. You know where he lives._

Percy wants to tell her how bad her idea is. He wants to tell her that Luke would never want Percy anywhere near his apartment. He wants to tell her that he doesn't know where it is.

But her idea is pretty good, it's not really about what Luke wants anymore, and he's been there a thousand times. Maybe Luke needs to see Percy in real life to work things out.

Percy sends the obligatory "I'm coming to your apartment right now don't be naked" text on the way to Luke's apartment. He stops by a coffee shop and buys them both a muffin. He considers taking Luke some flowers but realizes that would probably make things worse. He buys the flowers anyway and throws them in a dumpster. He begins typing a speech.

_Dear Luke,_

_Ignoring people is not very cool. I guess kissing people who don't want to be kissed is not very cool either. Either way we're both being not very cool right now but I want to be very cool. With you. I want to be very cool with you. _

_Please can we be friends? I promise I won't kiss you again. _

_Sincerely, _

_Percy _

He reads the speech over and over again in the elevator on the way to Luke's apartment. He reads it a few more times in the hallway. When he's one hundred percent sure it can't be that bad he knocks on Luke's apartment door and waits. And waits. And waits.

He knocks again.

And again.

And one more time.

There's another long pause before the door finally opens to reveal Luke looking very annoyed. However, when he sees Percy, his face relaxes. It's not the disgust Percy expected so he's happy, at least for the moment.

"Percy."

Percy nods and holds out his phone.

Luke looks at it.

Percy looks at him.

Luke looks at Percy.

Luke steps closer.

Luke leans down.

Luke kisses Percy.

Percy kisses Luke.

Percy remembers his speech and pulls away.

"Percy-"

Percy gestures to the phone and grins when Luke takes it. He watches while Luke reads the speech and then they're looking at each other again. Percy really hopes they can kiss again.

Luke seems to be thinking very hard about something. He hands the phone back to Percy and holds up a finger, telling Percy to wait. He gestures and Percy assumes he's trying to sign something. He gestures again and Percy frowns.

"I only learned this an hour ago." Luke says defensively and Percy smiles.

_i believe it _

"I'm trying to be romantic, Percy."

_ok ok _

"I want you to go on a date with me."

_ok _

"Do you want that?"

Percy could kiss Luke.

He does.

That's answer enough.


End file.
